Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

v3.24.1
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation [Abstract]  
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

NOTE 1 – DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION 

 

The Company 

 

Ondas Holdings Inc. (“Ondas Holdings”, “Ondas”, the “Company,” “we,” or “our”) was originally incorporated in Nevada on December 22, 2014, under the name of Zev Ventures Incorporated. On September 28, 2018, we acquired Ondas Networks Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Ondas Networks”), and changed our name to Ondas Holdings Inc. On August 5, 2021, we acquired American Robotics, Inc. (“American Robotics” or “AR”), a Delaware corporation. On January 23, 2023, we acquired Airobotics, Ltd. (“Airobotics”), an Israeli-based developer of autonomous drone systems. See Note 5 – Goodwill and Business Acquisition. On December 6, 2023, the Company formed Ondas Autonomous Holdings Inc. (“OAH”), a Nevada corporation, as an intermediate holding company which now wholly-owns American Robotics and Airobotics.

 

As a result, Ondas Networks, OAH, American Robotics and Airobotics became our subsidiaries. These subsidiaries are now Ondas’ primary focus. Ondas’ corporate headquarters are located in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Ondas Networks has offices and facilities in Sunnyvale, California, American Robotics’ offices and facilities are located in Sparks, Maryland and Marlborough, Massachusetts, and Airobotics’ offices and facilities are located in Petah Tikva, Israel.

 

Business Activity

 

Ondas is a leading provider of private wireless, drone, and automated data solutions through its subsidiaries Ondas Networks, OAH, Airobotics, and American Robotics. Airobotics is an Israeli-based developer of autonomous drone systems. American Robotics is a leading developer of highly automated commercial drone systems. Airobotics and American Robotics operate together under OAH as a separate business unit called Ondas Autonomous Systems. Ondas Networks and Ondas Autonomous Systems together provide users in rail, energy, mining, public safety and critical infrastructure and government markets with improved connectivity, data collection capabilities, and data collection and information processing capabilities. We operate Ondas Networks and Ondas Autonomous Systems as separate business segments, and the following is a discussion of each segment.

 

On February 14, 2023, the Company announced the formation of Ondas Autonomous Systems, a new business unit to manage the combined drone operations of subsidiaries American Robotics and Airobotics. Ondas Networks and Ondas Autonomous Systems together provide users in rail, energy, mining, public safety and critical infrastructure and government markets with improved connectivity, data collection capabilities, and data collection and information processing capabilities. We operate Ondas Networks and Ondas Autonomous Systems as separate business segments.

 

Ondas Networks

 

Ondas Networks provides wireless connectivity solutions enabling mission-critical Industrial Internet applications and services. We refer to these applications as the Mission-Critical Internet of Things (“MC-IoT”). Our wireless networking products are applicable to a wide range of MC-IoT applications, which are most often located at the very edge of large industrial networks. These applications require secure, real-time connectivity with the ability to process large amounts of data at the edge of large industrial networks. Such applications are required in all of the major critical infrastructure markets, including rail, electric grids, drones, oil and gas, and public safety, homeland security and government, where secure, reliable and fast operational decisions are required in order to improve efficiency and ensure a high degree of safety and security.

 

We design, develop, manufacture, sell and support FullMAX, our patented, Software Defined Radio (“SDR”) platform for secure, licensed, private, wide-area broadband networks. Our customers install FullMAX systems in order to upgrade and expand their legacy wide-area network infrastructure. We have targeted the North American freight rail operators for the initial adoption of our FullMAX platform. These rail operators currently operate legacy communications systems utilizing serial-based narrowband wireless technologies for voice and data communications. These legacy wireless networks have limited data capacity and are unable to support the adoption of new, intelligent train control and management systems. Our MC-IoT intellectual property has been adopted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (“IEEE”), the leading worldwide standards body in data networking protocols, and forms the core of the IEEE 802.16 standard. Because standards-based communications solutions are preferred by our mission-critical customers and ecosystem partners, we continue to take a leadership position in IEEE as it relates to wireless networking for industrial markets. As such, management believes this standards-based approach supports the adoption of our technology across a burgeoning ecosystem of global partners and end markets.

 

Our software-based FullMAX platform is an important and timely upgrade solution for privately-owned and operated wireless wide-area networks, leveraging Internet Protocol-based communications to provide more reliability and data capacity for our mission-critical infrastructure customers. We believe industrial and critical infrastructure markets throughout the globe have reached an inflection point where legacy serial and analog based protocols and network transport systems no longer meet industry needs. In addition to offering enhanced data throughput, FullMAX is an intelligent networking platform enabling the adoption of sophisticated operating systems and equipment supporting next-generation MC-IoT applications over wide field areas. These new MC-IoT applications and related equipment require more processing power at the edge of large industrial networks and the efficient utilization of network capacity and scarce bandwidth resources which can be supported by the “Fog-computing” capability integrated in our end-to-end network platform. Fog-computing utilizes management software to enable edge compute processing and data and application prioritization in the field enabling our customers more reliable, real-time operating control of these new, intelligent MC-IoT equipment and applications at the edge.

 

Ondas Autonomous Systems

 

Our Ondas Autonomous Systems business unit develops and integrates drone-based solutions focusing on high-performance critical applications for government and Tier-1 commercial enterprises. Ondas is marketing comprehensive drone-based solutions to address the needs of governmental and commercial customers based on its commercially available platforms: the Optimus System™, a fully autonomous drone platform capable of continuous and multipurpose aerial data capturing and analytics, and the Iron Drone Raider™, a fully autonomous interceptor drone designed to neutralize small hostile drones. Airobotics acquired the assets of Iron Drone on March 6, 2023.

 

Our unique, fully autonomous platforms enable cutting-edge aerial capabilities and are designed to serve and protect critical infrastructure and operations. Our business focuses on end-user entities in Public Safety, Defense, Homeland Security, Smart City, Port Authorities, State Departments, and other governmental entities together with commercial customers of industrial sensitive facilities such as Oil & Gas, Seaports, Mining, and Heavy Construction. For these industries, Ondas Autonomous Systems provides specialized real-time aerial data capturing and aerial protection solutions in the most complex environments such as urban areas, sensitive and critical facilities and field area operations, and high-priority projects. In addition, we offer a wide suite of supplementary, enabling services for successful implementation such as AI data analytics, data automation, IT implementation, safety planning, certification, training, and maintenance, handling all the complex aspects of such high-performance drone operations.

 

Our portfolio companies, American Robotics and Airobotics, form a unique, powerful, and synergistic combination covering all the aspects required for successful Aerospace business together with data technologies and services for digital transformation industries. Our companies are specialized in addressing all the challenges arising along these types of product lifecycles including research and development, manufacturing, certification, and ongoing support.

 

Ondas Autonomous Systems and its portfolio companies have already gained a track record of industry-leading regulatory successes including the securing of the first-of-its-kind Type Certification (TC) from the FAA for the Optimus 1-EX UAV on September 25, 2023, becoming the first autonomous security data capture UAV to achieve this distinction. TC, recognized as the highest echelon of Airworthiness Certification, streamline operational approvals for broad flight operations over people and infrastructure. The certification verifies the compliance of the system’s design with the required FAA airworthiness and noise standards, ensuring safe operation within the US National Airspace System (NAS) thereby significantly broadening the range of operational scenarios and scaling up of operations for automated UAS. Achieving FAA Type Certification will enable drone operations beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) without a human operator on-site. With a strong footprint in the US market and worldwide, we believe that Ondas Autonomous Systems is well-positioned with proven technology, a unique offering, and strong capabilities to strategically transform critical operations with our cutting-edge drone tech and capabilities.

 

Liquidity  

 

We have incurred losses since inception and have funded our operations primarily through debt and the sale of capital stock. On December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $198,360,000. On December 31, 2023, we had net long-term borrowings outstanding of approximately $5,368,000 net of debt discount and issuance costs of approximately $392,000 and short-term borrowings outstanding of approximately $26,213,000, net of debt discount and issuance costs of approximately $1,968,000. On December 31, 2023, we had cash and restricted cash of approximately $15,022,000 and a working capital deficit of approximately $12,334,000.

 

In October 2022, the Company entered into a convertible debt agreement, which provided cash proceeds of approximately $27,702,000. Also in 2022, the Company raised approximately $6,090,000 through the ATM Offering. In 2023, we raised approximately $14,692,000 of net proceeds from the sale redeemable preferences shares in Ondas Networks and warrants in Ondas Holdings to third parties, and approximately $9,310,000 from a second convertible debt agreement. In February 2024, we raised gross proceeds of approximately $4,500,000 from issuing additional redeemable preference shares in Ondas Networks and warrants in Ondas Holdings to third parties, and approximately $4,100,000 from issuing common stock in Ondas Holdings and warrants in OAH.

 

We expect to fund our operations for the next twelve months from the filing date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K from the cash on hand as of December 31, 2023, proceeds from the 2024 financing activities discussed above, gross profits generated from revenue growth, potential prepayments from customers for purchase orders, potential proceeds from warrants issued and outstanding, and additional funds that we may seek through equity or debt offerings and/or borrowings under additional notes payable, lines of credit or other sources. There is substantial doubt that the funding plans will be successful and therefore the conditions discussed above have not been alleviated. As a result, there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year from April 1, 2024, the date the Consolidated Financial Statements were available to be issued.

 

Our future capital requirements will depend upon many factors, including progress with developing, manufacturing and marketing our technologies, the time and costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining and enforcing patent claims and other proprietary rights, our ability to establish collaborative arrangements, marketing activities and competing technological and market developments, including regulatory changes and overall economic conditions in our target markets. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability requires us to successfully market and secure purchase orders for our products and services from customers currently identified in our sales pipeline as well as new customers. We also will be required to efficiently manufacture and deliver equipment on those purchase orders. These activities, including our planned research and development efforts, will require significant uses of working capital. There can be no assurance that we will generate revenue and cash as expected in our current business plan. We may seek additional funds through equity or debt offerings and/or borrowings under additional notes payable, lines of credit or other sources. We do not know whether additional financing will be available on commercially acceptable terms or at all, when needed. If adequate funds are not available or are not available on commercially acceptable terms, our ability to fund our operations, support the growth of our business or otherwise respond to competitive pressures could be significantly delayed or limited, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial conditions, or results of operations. 

 

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

 

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) was signed into law. The IRA includes a 15% Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (“Corporate AMT”) for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022. We do not expect the Corporate AMT to have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements. Additionally, the IRA imposes a 1% excise tax on net repurchases of stock by certain publicly traded corporations. The excise tax is imposed on the value of the net stock repurchased or treated as repurchased. The new law will apply to stock repurchases occurring after December 31, 2022. 

 

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, we are required to capitalize R&D expenses for tax purposes and amortize over five years for domestic based expenses and fifteen years for foreign expenses. Given our tax net operating loss carryforward position we do not expect this change to have a material impact on our financial statements.